Off-grid energy for rural development in Latin America and the Caribbean: concluding workshop

Panama City
Panama Workshop Report
Panama Policy Brief

The Smart Villages Initiative held an international workshop on 3 May at the Wyndham Hotel Albrook Mall to help collect and distil the knowledge and experience gathered from the previous 15 months in Latin America and the Caribbean. The workshop brought together government representatives and key stakeholders to discuss the role of renewable energy for rural development of off-grid communities, reflect on existing challenges and to formulate policy recommendations for moving forward.

Workshop topics to be discussed included: renewable energy for productive use and provision of social services; lessons for sustainability; reaching “the last mile”; an integrated approach for the development of smart villages.

Workshop Programme

May 2nd
08:45-12:00Visit to the Canal of Panama
12:30 Lunch
Session 1
Chair
14:00Welcome and workshop presentation
Bernie Jones, Smart Villages

14:10 The Smart Villages Project and lessons learned, John Holmes, Smart Villages, United Kingdom
14:30Renewable energy for rural electrification in Latin America, an overview, Alexandra Arias, Principal Specialist, Electricity, Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE)
14:50Challenges in scaling up rural electrification initiatives and considerations on sustainability, Lucia Spinelli, Senior Energy Specialist, World Bank Group, Argentina
15:10Rural electrification initiatives in Bolivia, Joaquín Rodríguez, Viceminister for Electricity and Alternative Energy, Bolivia
15:30 Coffee break
16:00Energy for cooking, Ana Isabel Moreno, Director, Energising Development – EnDev Peru
16:20Dynamisation of the market for thermal renewable energy technologies for productive use; FASERT’s experience in Peru, Angélica Fort Meyer, National Technical Coordinator FASET, InterAmerican Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), Peru
16:40Plenary discussion
17:30 End of session 1
19:45 Leave hotel for dinner and show at Restaurante las Tinajas, return 22:00
3rd May
Presentations session 2
Chair
9:00Máximo Fernández, Technical Assesor GiZ, Costa Rica
9:20Examples of work in Africa and how it is different Latin America, Sebastián Rodríguez, Infrastructure for Sustainable Development (I4SD)
9:40Latin American research networks for the development of renewable energies in rural areas; Miguel Latorre Zubiri, Director CEDER-CIEMAT, Spain
10:00 Behavioral energy efficiency and flexible demand opportunities in low-carbon resource constrained environments, Diego Ponce de León Barido, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL)
10:20 Q&A
10:40 Coffee break
11:10 Electrification of rural communities in Chile, Rosa Maria Agomedo Prado, Global Changes, Chile
11:30 Aprotec, Colombia; Jesus Eduardo Gómez Gutierrez
11:50 Q&A
12:45Lunch
Presentation session 3
Chair
14:00 Acciona Microenergía, Julio Eisman
14:20Smart Hydro Power GmbH; Karl Kolmsee
14:40Technological and management innovations to achieve universal access, Miguel Fernández, Energética, Bolivia
15:00TecnoTrama Ambiental, Unai Arrieta
15:20 Coffee break
16:00 Parallel working group sessions
17:00 Report back to session and general discussion: key policy recommendations
17:30Closing of the workshop
Mayo 2
8:45 - 12:00Visita al Canal de Panamá
12:30Almuerzo en el hotel
Sesión de
presentaciones 1
Moderador
14:00Bienvenida y presentación del taller, Bernie Jones, Smart Villages, Reino Unido
14:10La Iniciativa Smart Villages- lecciones aprendidas, John Holmes, Smart Villages, Reino Unido
14:30Energías renovables para la electrificación rural en América Latina, Alexandra Arias, Especialista Principal, Electricidad, Organización Latino Americana de Energía (OLADE)
14:50Lucia Spinelli, Senior Especialista de Energía, Banco Mundial, Argentina
15:10Iniciativas de electrificación rural en Bolivia, Joaquín Rodríguez, Vice Ministro de Electricidad y Energías, Bolivia
15:30 Pausa café
16:00Energía para cocinar; Ana Isabel Moreno, Director, Energising Development – EnDev Perú
16:20La dinamización del mercado de las tecnologías de energía renovable térmica para uso productivo desde la experiencia del FASERT en el Perú; Angélica Fort Meyer, Coordinador Técnico Nacional FASERT, Instituto Interamericano para la Cooperación en Agricultura, (IICA), Perú
16:40 Sesión de discusión
18:00 Final de la sesión
19:45Salida para cena y show en el Restaurante Tinajas, retorno a la hora 22:00
Mayo 3
Sesión de presentaciones 2
Moderador
9:00Máximo Fernández, Technical Adviser GiZ, Costa Rica y Panamá
9:20Ejemplos de trabajo en África y como es diferente América Latina, Sebastián Rodríguez, Infraestructura para el Desarrollo Sustentable (I4SD)
9:40Redes latinoamericanas de investigación y desarrollo de energías renovables en entornos rurales; Miguel Latorre Zubiri, Director CEDER-CIEMAT, España
10:00 Oportunidades para la eficiencia energética comportamental y demanda flexible en ambientes bajos en carbono y de recursos constreñidos, Diego Ponce de León Barido, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL)
10:20 Q&A
10:40 Pausa café
11:10 Electrificación rural en localidades aisladas de Chile, Rosa Maria Agomedo Prado, Global Changes, Chile
11:30 Aprotec, Colombia; Jesús Eduardo Gómez Gutiérrez
11:50 Q&A
12:45Almuerzo
Sesión de presentaciones 3
Moderador
14:00 Acciona Microenergía, Julio Eisman
14:20Smart Hydro Power GmbH; Karl Kolmsee
14:40Innovaciones tecnológicas y de gestión para alcanzar el acceso universal, Miguel Fernández, Energética, Bolivia
15:00TecnoTrama Ambiental, Unai Arrieta
15:20 Pausa café
16:00 Sesiones paralelas de trabajo
17:00 Discusión en plenaria: recomendaciones principales de política energética
17:30Clausura del taller
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